The Wit Reno Deserves (and the Politicians Can’t Handle)

From Mullin’s Nextdoor post yesterday.

If you’re not following Shaun Mullin on social media—especially Nextdoor—you’re missing out on some of the sharpest satire Reno has seen since… well, since Reno thought the Lear Theater was a good idea. Mullin has made an art form out of skewering the Reno City Council, a collection of politicians so thin-skinned they’d probably break out in hives if someone drew them a stick figure cartoon.

We only wish Mullin had more hours in the day for a broaden scope: Washoe County commissioners, the Sparks mayor, the whole circus. Imagine the material Mullin could carve out of the city’s recent “cat-fighting firefighter leg sweep” settlement. Mullin’s pen would be sharper than the court filings themselves.

But satire, it seems, has become a mortal wound to at least one Reno councilmember. This particular official regularly whines about being “doxed,” “stalked,” “mocked,” and even suffering “copyright infringement” at Mullin’s hands—as if wit is somehow a felony. We keep waiting for him to add “witchcraft” and “grand theft laughter” to the list. The irony? The louder he cries “victim,” the more Mullin’s satire lands.

Reno’s answer to Aristophanes, Jonathan Swift, George Orwell—with a dash of Mark Twain—Mullin doesn’t just poke fun, but pulls back the curtain. Instead of crying foul, this councilmember might try laughing—or at least acknowledging that his campaign coffers are stuffed with donations from developers, casinos, lobbyists, and every special interest that seem to always earn his council vote. But self-reflection has never been Reno’s favorite pastime.

So what’s really going on? Could it be that our perpetually offended councilmember just wants more attention for his Reno mayoral ambitions? After all, look at Spooge co-creater Mayor Hillary Schieve, who has ridden “Trackergate” all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court at what cost to Nevada taxpayers with all the court filings and judicial hearings in Nevada. Why not play the victim card? It’s cheaper than a campaign consultant and almost as effective as a staged press conference.

But here’s the thing about satire: you can try to silence it, you can try to spin it, you can even cry about it on the dais—but you can’t kill it. And in Reno, as long as Shaun Mullin keeps writing, we’ve got at least one voice that isn’t for sale.